Miami Dolphins defensive end William Hayes is out for the rest of the season after tearing his right ACL on this play. (AP)

“He was trying not to put his body weight on the quarterback and that happened,” Gase said. “He is one of the leaders; our best run defender.”

It sounds like some sour grapes from Gase at first, but watching the clip of the play (above), it doesn’t seem so far-fetched, and he may have a point. It looks like Hayes was doing what he could in the moment to position himself in such a way as to not land fully on Carr, swinging his right leg out wide. When Hayes lands, he clutches his right knee.

‘Trying to land unnaturally’

And we have our 1st defensive player who injured himself trying to land unnaturally to the side of the QB he’s sacking. Basically, the new (& nonsensical) NFL rule caused this injury. This league has become so dumb. #Dolphins#Raiderspic.twitter.com/Jjh0u8XJVJ

The above tweet is from Matt Chatham, who won three Super Bowl rings as a reserve linebacker with the New England Patriots. Chatham posted it Sunday afternoon, when the play happened, and he believed as soon as it happened that Hayes was trying to adhere to the new rule and injured himself in the process.

While Hayes, a 33-year-old who is in his 11th season in the NFL and second with the Dolphins, has played a backup role with Miami, as Gase said he is the team’s best run defender and edge-setter.

Player safety for which players?

The NFL listed the body weight emphasis as protection of quarterbacks, and players should be as safe as possible on the field. But how fair is it if defensive players suffer injuries in the interest of protecting quarterbacks?

Defensive players have decried the unfairness of the new rules and points of emphasis directed at the safety of quarterbacks and offensive skill players, and their concerns are justified, and even more so if players are going to end up hurting themselves trying to unnaturally move themselves and avoid making a tackle that up until a few months ago was a textbook takedown.

Hayes appears to wrap Carr around the shoulders and didn’t make helmet-to-helmet contact.